Connecticut voters approve 61 - 32 percent of the job John Rowland is doing as
governor, but by a 48 - 39 percent margin, they would like to see an unspecified "someone
else" elected governor, according to a Quinnipiac College Poll released today.

In fact, "someone else" does better than any of the potential Democratic challengers:

"The good news for Gov. Rowland is that most Connecticut voters approve of the job
he is doing and say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the state. The bad news
is that less than half would like to see him reelected Governor and he finishes in a statistical
dead heat with Rep. Barbara Kennelly in a head-to-head matchup," said Quinnipiac College
Poll Director Douglas Schwartz.

"The gender gap is helping Rep. Kennelly in her bid to become governor. We matched
Rowland against Mayor Ganim, Curry and Kennelly and only with Kennelly are women more
likely to say they would vote for the Democrat."

Running against Curry, Rowland gets 49 percent of the women's vote; against Ganim
he gets 46 percent of the women's vote; against Kennelly, he gets 37 percent of the women's
vote, to 47 percent for the challenger.

By a 50 - 24 percent margin, Connecticut voters have a mixed opinion of Rowland,
with 21 percent mixed and 4 percent saying they don't know enough to form an opinion.
Favorability for potential challengers is:

Thirty-seven percent of voters trust Rowland to do what is right most of the time, while
42 trust him some of the time and 19 percent trust him rarely.

Kennelly would win a Democratic primary with Curry 63 - 19 percent. In a three-way
primary with Ganim, Kennelly would get 56 percent, to 13 percent for Curry and 12 percent
for Ganim.

"Kennelly did not receive any bump in the polls from her announcement that she would
run for governor. The July 16 Quinnipiac College Poll showed her getting 44 percent, to
Rowland's 40 percent. Meanwhile, Curry and Ganim have fallen off a bit," Schwartz said.

From September 30 to October 6, Quinnipiac College surveyed 1,104 Connecticut
residents who say they are registered voters. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
The Quinnipiac College Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut as a public service and for research.

Additional data available.

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Rowland is handling his job
as Governor of Connecticut?

Jul 16
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1997

Approve 61% 77% 46% 61% 63% 58% 56%

Disapprove 32 15 44 32 30 33 34

DK/NA 8 7 10 6 7 9 10

1a. Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat?

Jul 16
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom 1997

Approve strongly 22% 42% 10% 20% 26% 18% 18%

Approve smwht 38 35 37 41 37 40 38

Disapprove smwht 17 8 19 19 16 18 19

Disapprove strongly 15 7 25 13 14 15 15

DK/NA 8 7 10 6 7 9 10

4. Is your opinion of former state Controller Bill Curry favorable,
unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him?